General Laws of Massachusetts - Chapter 234A Office of Jury Commissioner for the Commonwealth
- Massachusetts General Laws - Application of chapter to particular counties - Chapter 234A, Section 1
This chapter shall apply in every county in the commonwealth which has been designated as a participating county as hereinafter provided. Middlesex county shall be...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Judicial districts; eligibility for jury service - Chapter 234A, Section 2
The judicial districts for purposes of this chapter shall be the counties unless modified by the supreme judicial court. The supreme judicial court may, by...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Juror service - Chapter 234A, Section 3
Juror service in the participating counties shall be a duty which every person who qualifies under this chapter shall perform when selected. All persons selected...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Disqualification from juror service - Chapter 234A, Section 4
Any citizen of the United States who is a resident of the judicial district or who lives within the judicial district more than fifty per...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Office of jury commissioner - Chapter 234A, Section 5
There shall be an office of jury commissioner for the commonwealth, hereinafter called the office. The office shall have authority to implement the provisions of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Jury management advisory committee - Chapter 234A, Section 6
A jury management advisory committee, consisting of six members, one of whom shall be appointed as chairman, shall be established as a standing committee of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Jury commissioner and staff; appointment; salaries - Chapter 234A, Section 7
The office of jury commissioner shall be composed of a jury commissioner and such staff positions as the jury commissioner, with the approval of the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Rules of court; regulations - Chapter 234A, Section 8
The supreme judicial court may make and amend rules of court not inconsistent with this chapter, designating the participating counties and regulating all aspects of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Liability of cities and towns - Chapter 234A, Section 9
The mayor, city manager, or other executive head of a city and the city clerk, jointly and severally, shall have the duty of fulfilling all...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Numbered resident list - Chapter 234A, Section 10
On or before the first day of June of each year, each city and town shall make a sequentially numbered list of the names, addresses,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Numbered resident file - Chapter 234A, Section 11
On or before the first day of June of each year, each city and town having twenty thousand or more residents on its numbered resident...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Number of prospective jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 12
On or before the first day of July of each year, the office of jury commissioner shall determine the number of prospective jurors to be...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Random selection of prospective jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 13
On or before the first day of September of each year, the office of the jury commissioner shall randomly select prospective jurors for each city...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Typewritten lists from cities and towns not submitting numbered resident files - Chapter 234A, Section 14
On or before the first day of August of each year, each city and town that has not submitted a numbered resident file pursuant to...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Preparation of prospective juror list - Chapter 234A, Section 15
On or before the first day of September of each year, the office of jury commissioner shall prepare the prospective juror list for each city...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Master juror list; random shuffling; summoning jurors in sequence - Chapter 234A, Section 16
On or before the first day of October of each year, the office of jury commissioner shall prepare the master juror list for each judicial...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Letter of venire - Chapter 234A, Section 17
At least twelve weeks prior to the time when the services of grand or trial jurors are required, the clerk of each court requiring such...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Discretionary determination of number of jurors to be summoned - Chapter 234A, Section 18
At least twelve weeks prior to the commencement of any term of grand or trial juror service, the jury commissioner shall determine, as a matter...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Juror summons; contents - Chapter 234A, Section 19
At least twelve weeks prior to the commencement of any term of grand or trial juror service, the office of jury commissioner shall summon by...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Notice of qualifications for juror service included with summons - Chapter 234A, Section 20
Enclosed with the juror summons shall be a notice of qualifications for juror service. A summary of section four of this chapter shall be included...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Juror confirmation form included with summons - Chapter 234A, Section 21
Enclosed with the juror summons shall be a juror confirmation form. When completed by the juror, this form shall certify whether or not the juror...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Confidential juror questionnaire included with summons - Chapter 234A, Section 22
Enclosed with the juror summons shall be a confidential juror questionnaire. The information elicited by the questionnaire shall be such information as is ordinarily raised...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Use of juror questionnaire during voir dire - Chapter 234A, Section 23
Unless the court orders otherwise, the clerk of court or an assistant clerk shall provide copies of the appropriate completed questionnaires to the trial judge...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Return of juror confirmation form - Chapter 234A, Section 24
Every grand or trial juror shall return the juror confirmation form, duly completed and signed, within ten days after receipt by him of the juror...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Second summons - Chapter 234A, Section 25
Any grand or trial juror from whom the office of jury commissioner has not received a duly completed and signed juror confirmation form by the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Additional jurors; summons; second summons - Chapter 234A, Section 26
On or before the sixth week preceding any term of grand or trial juror service, the office of jury commissioner may summon additional grand or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Time and manner of service of additional jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 27
The office of jury commissioner may summon additional grand and trial jurors to appear for juror service forthwith or at a time certain, with or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Cancellation of juror service - Chapter 234A, Section 28
The office of jury commissioner may cancel grand or trial juror service whenever it appears that the number of jurors scheduled to appear is in...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Modification of juror service - Chapter 234A, Section 29
The office of jury commissioner may modify the date, location, or other condition of grand or trial juror service in order to meet the urgent...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Standby jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 30
The office of jury commissioner or the court may impose a standby status condition on any trial or grand juror before or during his term...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Presentation by juror to clerk of summons, questionnaire and notices - Chapter 234A, Section 31
On the first day of his term of grand or trial juror service, each juror shall bring to court and present to the officer in...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Wilful misrepresentations in juror questionnaire - Chapter 234A, Section 32
Any juror or other person who wilfully misrepresents a material fact in the confidential questionnaire for the purpose of either avoiding or securing service as...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Criminal history records of jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 33
The court, the office of jury commissioner, and the clerk of court or assistant clerk shall have authority to inquire into the criminal history records...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Postponement of term of juror service - Chapter 234A, Section 34
A trial juror shall have the right to one postponement of his term of juror service for not more than one year. The trial juror...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Juror service performed at any location within judicial district - Chapter 234A, Section 35
Grand and trial jurors shall be summoned at random from the entire judicial district to perform juror service at any particular location within the judicial...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Notice of date of postponement or request for location transfer - Chapter 234A, Section 36
Not later than two weeks after the receipt of the juror confirmation form containing an election to postpone or a request to transfer juror service...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Postponement for reasons of important business of commonwealth or United States - Chapter 234A, Section 37
The legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the commonwealth and of the United States shall not be impeded by the provisions of this chapter from...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Availability for juror service by telephone notice - Chapter 234A, Section 38
A grand or trial juror may be permitted by the court to be available for juror service or continued juror service upon telephone notice. A...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Deferment or advancement of, or excuse from, juror service; term limitations; dismissal or discharge of juror - Chapter 234A, Section 39
The court or the office of jury commissioner shall have authority to defer or advance any term of grand or trial juror service upon a...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Length of trial; excuse of juror - Chapter 234A, Section 40
In the event a trial is expected by the court to last more than three trial days, the trial judge shall announce this fact to...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Length of term of service of jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 41
The length of the term of service for trial jurors shall be one day unless a juror is assigned to or impanelled on an incompleted...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Enforcement of chapter - Chapter 234A, Section 42
The court shall take whatever actions are appropriate to enforce the provisions of this chapter. Upon a finding by the court that a juror will...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Delinquency notice - Chapter 234A, Section 43
The office of jury commissioner may send a delinquency notice by certified or first-class mail or by delivery by a sheriff or constable to any...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Criminal complaint for delinquent juror - Chapter 234A, Section 44
The office of jury commissioner may prepare an application for the issuance of a criminal complaint against any grand or trial juror who has not...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Studies, research and new procedures - Chapter 234A, Section 45
The office of jury commissioner shall perform studies, foster research, and implement new procedures which are contemplated to accomplish the following: improvement of all aspects...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Delegation of authority to jury commissioner - Chapter 234A, Section 46
The committee or the court may delegate to the jury commissioner of the office of jury commissioner such authority as is appropriate for the efficient...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Compensation and reimbursement policy - Chapter 234A, Section 47
The compensation and reimbursement policy of this chapter shall be to prevent financial hardship being imposed upon any juror because of performance of juror service...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Payment of regularly employed jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 48
Each regularly employed trial or grand juror shall be paid regular wages by his employer for the first three days, or part thereof, of juror...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Employers or self-employed jurors excused from payment - Chapter 234A, Section 49
The court shall have the authority to excuse an employer from the duty to compensate a juror-employee or to excuse a self-employed juror from the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Reimbursement of unemployed jurors for expenses - Chapter 234A, Section 50
Each unemployed trial or grand juror upon application shall be reimbursed by the commonwealth for reasonable travel, child-care, and other necessary out-of-pocket expenses, except food,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Payment of trial juror by commonwealth - Chapter 234A, Section 51
Each trial juror who serves more than three days shall be paid by the commonwealth for the fourth day of service and each day thereafter...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Grand juror financial questionnaire - Chapter 234A, Section 52
Upon the commencement of grand juror service, each grand juror shall complete and sign a financial questionnaire under the penalties of perjury. The completed questionnaire...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Private hearing to determine rate of compensation of grand juror - Chapter 234A, Section 53
On the first day of grand juror service, the court shall hold a private hearing with each impanelled grand juror. The purpose of this hearing...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Payment of grand juror by commonwealth - Chapter 234A, Section 54
Each grand juror who serves more than three days shall be paid by the commonwealth for the fourth day of service and each day of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Compensation of absent, alternate, standby jurors and jurors on telephone notice; credit during adjournments - Chapter 234A, Section 55
A juror, including a standby juror and a juror on telephone notice, shall not be compensated by the commonwealth or credited with a day of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Special awards of compensation and reimbursement; expenses; special arrangements - Chapter 234A, Section 56
Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, the court shall have authority to make special awards of compensation and reimbursement to any juror or to any...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Meals for jurors in accordance with their religious requirements - Chapter 234A, Section 56A
The court shall provide, upon request of a juror, meals consisting of food or food products prepared in accordance with the religious requirements of such...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Juror service certificate; contents - Chapter 234A, Section 57
The juror service certificate shall contain the name and address of the juror; the name, address, and judicial district of the court in which the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Mailing certificates; tender to employer for compensation - Chapter 234A, Section 58
Each week, the office of jury commissioner shall mail juror service certificates to those grand and trial jurors who have performed juror service during the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Form of payment of grand and trial jurors paid by commonwealth - Chapter 234A, Section 59
Grand and trial jurors in participating counties shall receive compensation due from the commonwealth by check on a weekly basis. Each check shall include all...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Employer liability for failure to pay juror-employee - Chapter 234A, Section 60
Any employer who fails to compensate a juror-employee under the applicable provisions of this chapter and who has not been excused from such duty or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Violation of Sec. 60; harassment, etc. of employee - Chapter 234A, Section 61
Any willful violation of section sixty of this chapter by an employer shall also constitute a violation of this section. A juror seeking a civil...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Trial juror’s handbook - Chapter 234A, Section 62
Not later than ten days prior to the term of service of each trial juror, the office of jury commissioner shall mail to each juror...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Telephone lines established by office of jury commissioner - Chapter 234A, Section 63
The office of jury commissioner, with the approval of the committee, may establish a sufficient number of telephone lines for the purposes of responding to...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Juror orientation - Chapter 234A, Section 64
On the first morning of juror service, grand and trial jurors shall be oriented by the court as to their duties and responsibilities. The court...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Welcoming address to jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 65
Following the juror orientation program, a member of the court shall personally appear before the jurors and make a brief welcoming address. The office of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Judicial discretion hearing with juror or employer - Chapter 234A, Section 66
Following the welcome to the jurors, the court shall hold a private hearing with each juror or employer of a juror who requests to be...
- Massachusetts General Laws - List of grand and trial jurors expected to appear sent or delivered to appropriate clerks of court - Chapter 234A, Section 67
Not later than ten days in advance of scheduled appearances by jurors, the office of jury commissioner shall send or deliver to the appropriate clerks...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Additional jurors impanelled; alternate jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 68
In every twelve-person jury case, the court shall impanel at least two additional jurors. In every six-person jury case, the court shall impanel at least...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Translators for deaf jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 69
A translator may assist a deaf juror during the juror orientation program, the juror’s welcome, and the judicial discretion hearing. As a matter of discretion,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Instruction to jury as to occupation or reputation of other jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 70
Upon motion of a party, or whenever the court deems it appropriate, the court shall include in its charge to the jury an instruction which...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Fraud in processing or selection of jurors or prospective jurors - Chapter 234A, Section 71
Whoever is guilty of fraud in the processing or selection of jurors or prospective jurors either by causing any name to be inserted into any...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Preservation of official records and papers compiled and maintained by office of jury commissioner - Chapter 234A, Section 72
All official records and papers compiled and maintained by the office of jury commissioner shall be preserved for three years after the calendar year to...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Challenge of array - Chapter 234A, Section 73
A party may challenge the composition of the juror pool by a motion for appropriate relief. This challenge shall be made and decided before any...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Irregularities or defects causing mistrial or verdict to be set aside - Chapter 234A, Section 74
Any irregularity in compiling any list of jurors or prospective jurors; or any irregularity in qualifying, selecting, summoning, confirming, postponing, excusing, cancelling, instructing, impanelling, challenging,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Use of data processing equipment, etc. and electronic telecommunications systems - Chapter 234A, Section 75
The use of data processing equipment, methods, services, forms, and electronic telecommunications systems by the office of jury commissioner for the implementation and administration of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Contracts and agreements with, and gifts, etc. from governmental units - Chapter 234A, Section 76
The jury commissioner, may in accordance with applicable procurement laws and regulations of the commonwealth, enter into contracts for purchasing or procuring services, equipment, forms,...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Contracts, agreements, gifts, etc.; deposit of funds - Chapter 234A, Section 77
The jury commissioner, with the approval of the committee, may enter into contracts and agreements with, and accept gifts, grants, contributions, and bequests of funds...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Management of jurors by individual courts - Chapter 234A, Section 78
Each court that receives jurors under this chapter shall make a commitment of certain resources and good will for the efficient and courteous management of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Annual report of jury commissioner - Chapter 234A, Section 79
On or before the first day of April of each year, the jury commissioner shall issue an annual report for the previous calendar year. The...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Annual conference of participants - Chapter 234A, Section 80
On or before the first day of June of each year, the jury commissioner, with the approval of the jury management advisory committee, may convene...
Last modified: September 11, 2015